(07/08/10) -

Americans Blame Banks and Corporations for Global Crisis

Respondents think that institutions, rather than consumers, are responsible for the global financial meltdown.

Respondents think that institutions, rather than consumers, are responsible for the global financial meltdown.

Americans think that the private sector is mostly responsible for the ongoing global financial crisis, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,004 American adults, 58 per cent of respondents say banks and financial institutions share most of the blame for the crisis that unraveled in 2007-2008; an additional 32 per cent think they are at least partly to blame for it.

Most Americans (51%) also think that big corporations share most of the blame for the crisis, and 40 per cent say they should be partly blamed for it.

Two-in-five respondents (40%) make governments responsible for failing to regulate markets properly. Only a quarter of Americans (24%) believe consumers who took on too much debt are mostly responsible for the global meltdown.

Compared to an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted in December 2009, fewer Americans are now allocating most of the blame for the crisis to governments (51% late last year, 40% now).

Avoiding a New Crisis

A majority of respondents (56%) believe that banks and financial institutions, as well as governments (54%), have not taken the necessary steps to avert a new crisis. Corporations face bigger criticism, with 66 per cent of Americans saying that they have not done what it takes to prevent a new debacle.

As for consumers, 36 per cent of respondents think they have taken the right measures to avoid another crisis, but 42 per cent disagree.

Respondents are divided when asked what caused the crisis, with 44 per cent thinking that it was triggered by governments encouraging lending institutions to service individuals who could clearly not repay the loans, and 38 per cent believing it was the result of a lack of regulation on lending practices.

Almost four-in-ten Americans (39%) think current financial regulations are too loose. Democrats and Independents (both at 46%) are much more likely than Republicans (30%) to believe this.

See our previous poll on the global financial crisis here.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From June 17 to June 18, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,004 American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States.